Red Hook Resident Association President Wins the David Prize 

Karen Blondel, a longtime Red Hook Houses resident, community organizer, and President of the Red Hook Houses West Resident Association, was recently named one of five winners of The David Prize. The prestigious prize awards New Yorkers with $200,000 over two years to fund projects that tackle some of the city’s urgent needs to help change communities, culture, and the future of NYC.  

Ms. Blondel has been an active part of the Red Hook and public housing community for more than 30 years, advocating on issues related to climate change, environmental justice, and public housing residents’ rights. She is also a board member of the NYC Public Housing Preservation Trust Board. 

“I was in shock when I found out I won,” Ms. Blondel said. “I felt amazing and like my work was supported and finally being acknowledged. Being nominated made it feel even better because it says that I have allies and supporters that want to see me win. I’m geared up and ready to take it to the next level.”  

She will use the funds to build the organization she founded in 2020, Public Housing Civic Association, which seeks to educate and empower public housing residents regarding their rights and public housing issues and programs. “I’m trying to get a group of people together who can look at the RAD/PACT conversions, the Trust, and Section 9 to be able to – without bias – present the findings to public housing residents so they have the clear and accurate information they need, and can trust themselves to make decisions based on unbiased advice,” Ms. Blondel said. 

This isn’t the first time Ms. Blondel has been recognized for her community work. She was nominated for the Loeb Fellowship at Harvard’s Graduate School of Design, which she graduated from in 2022. The fellowship provided leaders in the built and natural environment a year at Harvard to expand their resources and knowledge so they can continue to be leaders in the field.   

Ms. Blondel said that one unexpected bonus of winning the David Prize was meeting the four other prize winners “because they exposed me to what they’re working on and helped me become a more well-rounded person. I understand that people have different ministries and I think we need to hear stories – because it’s the stories that make it more personal and you can really start empathizing or start strategizing and helping to find solutions.”